Digital Media Academy

For Adults: Funding and Grant Asssistance

Attention Teachers? Are you interested in participating in Digital Media Academy’s workshops, courses, certifications, or continuing studies program? Do you need funding to be able to take advantage of these opportunities? Don’t worry…the funds you need are within reach. There are many grant opportunities available to meet your needs. Look to corporations, foundations and local mini-grant opportunities to help you make this a possibility.

McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation www.mccartheydressman.org/teacher.html
The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation believes that continuous, insightful and innovative professional training and growth is crucial to the effectiveness of educators. It is the Foundation’s goal to promote best practices through cooperative and sustained commitment to increased efficacy, improved teaching and active learning. As such, the Foundation values proposals aimed at concurrently boosting student understanding and proficiency and instilling a passion for lifelong learning.	Grant Opportunity: The Teacher Development Grants provide funding to individuals or small teams of teachers in the formation and implementation of groundbreaking k-12 classroom instruction. The grants provide opportunities for teachers to integrate fresh strategies that encourage critical inquiry and to observe their effects on students. Teachers have the opportunity to reflect and write about their projects, as well as to share	Awards: The Foundation awards grants to individuals in amounts up to $10,000 per year for a maximum of three years, provided the eligibility requirements continue to be met.   Deadline: Apply online between January 15 and April 15, 2012
To pursue this grant, be sure to frame your Digital Media Academy plans as a part of a comprehensive program that impacts teaching and creates active learning outcomes for your students. Discuss how you will “learn skills for integrating digital resources into the curriculum and, as a result, develop active hands-on learning experiences for students” and how you will “collaborate and share gained digital expertise with fellow teachers”.

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P. Buckley Moss Foundation www.mossfoundation.org/national-educators-awards-and-grants
The mission of the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education is to promote the integration of the arts into all educational programs, with a special focus on children who learn in different ways	Grant Opportunity: Applications may be made for a grant to support a new or evolving program that integrates the arts into educational programming. The purpose is to aid and support teachers who wish to establish an effective learning tool using the arts in teaching children who learn differently.	Awards: up to $1,000 to be awarded for year 2012 with the grant monies to be used in 2013 programs.   Deadline: Apply online between January 15 and April 15, 2012
To pursue this grant, discuss how participating in Digital Media Academy activities will provide you resources to “integrate visual arts into the classroom, thereby motivating and encouraging students to meet challenging academic standards through the differentiated use of technology.

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NEA Foundation Grants www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/grant-programs/learning-and-leadership/
The NEA Foundation is an independent, public charity supported by contributions from educators, corporate sponsors, and others. NEA partners with education unions, districts, and communities to create powerful, sustainable improvements in teaching and learning.	Grant Opportunity: Our Learning & Leadership grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two purposes: 1. Grants to individuals to fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research; or 2. Grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment.	Awards: The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study   Deadline: Applications may be submitted at any time but are reviewed as follows: Application RECEIVED by February 1 will be notified by April 15; Application received by June 1 will be notified by September 15; Application received by October 15 will be notified by January 15
To pursue this grant, discuss how participation in Digital Media Academy activities “provides relevant professional development fostering the integration of technology into the academic curriculum in order to impact learning, increase knowledge for teachers and students, and motivate/inspire students to succeed; thereby creating the environment for sustainable improvements in teaching and learning.

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Fund for Teachers CA Opportunities: www.fundforteachers.org/apply/california.php
Fund for Teachers enriches the personal and professional growth of teachers by recognizing and supporting them as they identify and pursue opportunities around the globe that will have the greatest impact on their practice, the academic lives of their students and on their school communities.	Grant Opportunity: K-12 teachers with a minimum of three years teaching experience as a full time teacher spending at least 50% of the time in a classroom or classroom-like setting, in an eligible area, can apply for this grant by designing a professional development experience. Applicants submit a written online proposal explaining how their experience will make them a better teacher and how the applicant’s improved skills or capacity will be implemented in the classroom, benefiting students, curricula and school. In addition, applicants should supply information as to how they will document experiences and describe, in narrative form, their proposed fellowship budget.	Awards: Eligible applicants may apply as an individual or as a team; the funding limit is $5,000 per person and $10,000 total per team of two or more   Deadline: Varies depending on state
To pursue this grant, discuss how the experience gained through Digital Media Activity professional development “will result in personal and professional growth through a total-immersion experience resulting in the integration of technology into the classroom that improves students 21st Century skills and better prepares them for careers in digital, web, and technology-based fields.

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ITEA – International Technology Education Association CA Opportunities: www.iteea.org
ITEA and its foundation, the Foundation for Technology Education (FTE), give awards, grants, and scholarships to support the advancement of technology education.	Grant Opportunity: FTE awards support programs that will make children technologically literate; transfer industrial and corporate research into schools; produce models of excellence in technology teaching; create public awareness regarding the nature of technology education; and help technology teachers maintain a competitive edge in technology. Grant Opportunities include: Pitsco/Hearlihy/FTE Grant Greer/FTE Grant EnviroTech Maley/FTEE Scholarship	Awards: Vary by grant   Deadline: Vary by grant The Mayle/FTEE Scholarship opened currently awards $1,000. Application due December 1st.
To pursue this grant, be sure to emphasize how the experience you gain through your Digital Media Academy experiences will “foster the technology literacy of students, provide a foundation for strong 21st Century Skills, and encourage career exploration in the field of technology in areas such as digital video and audio production, motion graphics, web design, and digital photography.” Discuss how the knowledge and skills gained through Digital Media Academy professional development will “provide a competitive edge in technology” and “enable the integration of technology into the academic curriculum.

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John D. and Catherine MacArthur Foundation www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.3599935/k.1648/John_D__Catherine_T_MacArthur_Foundation.htm
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation launched the Digital Media and Learning initiative in 2006 to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way people, especially young people, learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. Answers are critical to developing educational and other social institutions that can meet the needs of this and future generations. The Digital Media and Learning initiative is marshaling what is already known about the field and seeding innovation for continued growth.	Grant Opportunity: Grant support has been provided to the Digital Media and Learning Competition and to research projects, design studies, pilot programs, and experiments in learning applications, assessment and institutional design, structure and approach. Grant Guidelines are available on the Foundation website.	Awards: Vary by grant   Deadline: Grant applications are accepted upon inquiry and invitation.
To pursue this grant, emphasize how the use of digital technology gained through Digital Media Academy courses/workshops will change the lives of your students, both in the classroom and beyond.

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ESA Foundation www.esafoundation.org/challenge-grant.asp
The ESA Foundation and its partners, the Cooney Center, FAS, California Endowment and the Association for Middle Level Education, will issue a call for lesson plans, submissions and other proposals incorporating existing computer and video games into school curricula. The goal is to harness the excitement and energy of playing video games into positive, measurable outcomes that advance children’s education and learning experiences.	Grant Opportunity: Three grants will be awarded to K-12 schools in the US that best demonstrate their ability to innovatively incorporate video games into their curriculum. All schools wanting to utilize computers and video games to strengthen their current curricular offerings or create new learning experiences for students are encouraged to apply. Proposals are NOT limited to STEM classes and programs. Applications can be submitted by a teacher, administrator or other educator in the K-12 range	Awards: Three prizes will be awarded to the most innovative entries, in the amounts of $40,000, $20,000 and $15,000, to use toward implementing the proposed lesson. The awards will be based on the originality and creativity of lesson plans that reflect the contributions that games make to a child’s learning.   Deadline: April 6, 2012
To pursue this grant, incorporate the importance of the experience you will gain through Digital Media Academy will frame a comprehensive program that brings video game technology into your classroom as a teaching and learning experience for your students that advances student learning in a positive and meaningful way.

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When writing a grant proposal, be sure to follow these few basic rules:

1. Clearly define what you hope to accomplish.
2. Communicate your plan clearly and concisely.
3. Frame your proposal around a need and show how the funding will meet that need.
4. Follow the directions required by the Funder exactly when creating your proposal.

Good luck finding the funds!